All eyes are on Coimbatore as it welcomes thousands in its midst for the World Classical Tamil Conference. Emotions are charged as it celebrates the pomp, pageantry and the Tamil ethos.
The region's rich link to divine classical Tamil is ancient and undeniable is the fact that many Coimbatoreans over the years have made invaluable contributions towards the preservation and evolution of the language.
The indomitable S.P. Narasimhalu Naidu was one such. In the 1800s, he authored many books on subjects ranging from social reform, mathematics, literature and philosophy to music. He also edited and published journals like Coimbatore Abamaani and Coimbatore Patrika in 1879. In 1881, he established? Coimbatore Crescent . The Kalanidhi press was also established by him.
His landmark contribution to Tamil was the first travelogue in the language based on his travels in the country. Arya Divya Desa Yatari Sarithiram (1889) spoke of his experiences beyond the Vindhyas.
C.K.Subramania Muthaliar who lived in the early part of the last century is another stalwart whose monumental work on the commentary for Periya Puranam is well known. Revered as a great Shivite he was the president of the Kovai Tamil Sangam and he created the Kovai Sekizhar Thiru Kootam . He also wrote poems in praise of Perur Patteeshwarar.
C.M. Ramachandran Chettiar was an untiring chronicler of Coimbatore's history. He authored several books that include Kongu nattu varalaru , Ithuvo engal kovai , Kongu nadum samanamum , Perur varalaru , Muttam varalaru and Engal nattupuram . He was the principal of the Perur Tamil Kalloori for many years. Kovai Kizhar as he was referred was the editor of Kongu Malar and he has written over 60 books with many more yet to be published. It is timely to note that he was responsible for a Tamil Manadu in 1950 and it had an exhibition on Tamil culture and civilization.
Another towering personality was R.K. Shanmugam Chettiar. The first Finance Minister of India, he was knighted and was the diwan of the state of Cochin. His role in founding of the Tamil Isai Sangam is historic and he had written commentaries for Silapathikaram's Pukar part , Kutrala kuravanji poems and was responsible for the Vansantham magazine. He also donated a princely sum for the monumental Kalai Kalanjiyam or encyclopaedia in Tamil.
C.S.Rathinasabapathy Mudaliar is associated with the modernisation of Coimbatore. He too was a great patron of Tamil and was the founder president of the Kovai Sekkizhar Sangam. He was involved in the celebrations of the Saiva Siddhantha Pervai .
The 1950 Tamil Manadu was held during his tenure as municipal chairman.
Gandhian Avinashilingam Chettiar, a great institution builder, educationist, and social reformer was also a great contributor to the development of Tamil. Being the Education Minister from 1946 to 1949, he introduced Tamil as medium of instruction and introduced Thirukkural as part of the curriculum. He established the Tamil Valarchi Kalagam in 1946 and created a 10-part encyclopaedia in Tamil between 1954 and 1968 for which R.K. Shanmugam Chettiar was one of the main supporters. Later, a Tamil encyclopaedia for children was also brought out with the untiring dedication of another luminary of Tamil, Periyasaami Thooran. Avinashilingam Chettiar was the one who nationalised the works of Subrahmanya Bharathi and responsible for translating the complete works of Mahatma Gandhi into Tamil.
Another important contributor to modern Tamil is the leading educationist of PSG, G.R.Damodaran. He took great pains to ensure that Tamil could be applied in modern scientific and technological areas. He started Kalaikathir, a scientific Tamil monthly.
He authored Electron , Vignanathin Vilaivu and Theivika paniku oru kanikai . G.R.Damodaran also brought about reforms in the educational system to make way for Tamil teachers to become leaders of institutions, thereby bringing prominence to the language.
Even today, there are many writers, poets, researchers, patrons of Tamil in Coimbatore who are nurturing the legacy left behind by the great men.
The historic conference unfolding in our city will only strengthen our passion and pride in ancient Tamil.
